It’s June. Newborn fawns are putting tremendous nutritional stress on nursing mothers. Meanwhile, antler growth rates have kicked into overdrive and rapidly growing wild turkey poults, not to mention the dozens of other bird species, are scouring the landscape searching for food.

One of the best ways to attract and hold more wildlife on your land, including deer, turkeys and a host of other wildlife species, is by providing the proper amount and type of natural food to meet their year-round nutritional needs. Food plots are one way, but you can widen the window of attractiveness significantly by establishing mast orchards.

Planting a perennial summer fruit plot of mulberries from Chestnut Hill Outdoors is a great way to fill potential nutritional gaps that are occurring right now. Mulberries are the very first soft mast shrub to fruit in spring, providing ripe fruit as early as April and May in the deep south and early June further north. Read more

The canine creature shot in Montana a month ago that captured the curiosity of the nation is actually a gray wolf.

DNA from the animal, which was shot legally by a rancher near Denton on May 16, was tested at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service forensic laboratory in Ashland, Ore. The lab compared the animal’s DNA with thousands of other DNA samples from wolves, coyotes and dogs. The conclusion was clear – this animal is a gray wolf from the northern Rocky Mountains.

Confusion about the animal might be due to the condition of the animal and the photos, which seemed to show short legs and big ears. Inspection of the animal at the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks wildlife health lab in Bozeman revealed a relatively normal looking, dark brown wolf.

Physical variations aren’t unusual for animals, said Mary Curtis, geneticist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

“Within species there can be variability that’s not surprising at all,” Curtis said. Read more

Interested in property in northern Michigan’s beautiful Presque Isle County? Don’t miss the DNR’s upcoming land sale, starting July 10, where parcels ranging in size from an acre to 32 acres will be available by sealed-bid auction. There are 41 land parcels available, all in Rogers Township.

Scott Goeman, manager of DNR Real Estate Services, said these properties are being offered to the public because they’re better suited for private ownership.

“The properties being offered in the July auction are isolated from other DNR-managed land, are difficult to manage, or provide limited outdoor recreation benefits to the public,” Goeman said. “Plus, all of these parcels are forested or have lake frontage – or both – making them attractive to a lot of potential buyers who are interested in a little land ‘up north.’”

Property listings will be available for bid once the auction starts. At that time, instructions for submitting a bid and printable bid forms will be provided at

type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTgwNjE4LjkxMzIxMTgxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE4MDYxOC45MTMyMTE4MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MjgzMzA4JmVtYWlsaWQ9ZWRpdG9yQHRoZW91dGRvb3J3aXJlLmNvbSZ1c2VyaWQ9ZWRpdG9yQHRoZW91dGRvb3J3aXJlLmNvbSZmbD0mZXh0cmE9TXVsdGl2YXJpYXRlSWQ9JiYm&&&103&&&http://www.michigan.gov/landforsale” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener” data-saferedirecturl=”https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type%3Dclick%26enid%3DZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTgwNjE4LjkxMzIxMTgxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE4MDYxOC45MTMyMTE4MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MjgzMzA4JmVtYWlsaWQ9ZWRpdG9yQHRoZW91dGRvb3J3aXJlLmNvbSZ1c2VyaWQ9ZWRpdG9yQHRoZW91dGRvb3J3aXJlLmNvbSZmbD0mZXh0cmE9TXVsdGl2YXJpYXRlSWQ9JiYm%26%26%26103%26%26%26http://www.michigan.gov/landforsale&source=gmail&ust=1529439590209000&usg=AFQjCNEVvV-4QbOxVPpES9ffGSZXmYSBRg”>michigan.gov/landforsale. Information on the auction, including minimum bid prices, property descriptions and conditions of sale, is available on the website, too. Properties unsold from previous auctions also can be explored at this webpage.

Sealed bids must be postmarked by midnight July 20, and will be opened Aug. 1. Proceeds from the sale of these lands helps the DNR provide future outdoor recreation opportunities throughout the state.

Printed property information may be requested from the DNR Real Estate Services Section, P.O. Box 30448, Lansing, MI 48909-7948. For more information about the auction or other state-managed public land, contact Michael Michalek at 517-284-5950.

Michigan Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division officials said Thursday the state’s wolf population has remained relatively stable over the past four wolf surveys, the most recent of which occurred this past winter.

DNR wildlife biologists estimate there was a minimum of 662 wolves found among 139 packs across the Upper Peninsula this past winter. The 2016 minimum population estimate was 618 wolves.

“Based on our latest minimum population estimate, it is clear wolf numbers in Michigan remain viable and robust,” said Russ Mason, chief of the DNR’s wildlife division. “A similar trend is apparent in Wisconsin and Minnesota. The western Great Lakes states’ wolf population is thriving and has recovered.”

Fifteen more wolf packs were found during this past winter’s survey than in 2016, but pack size has decreased slightly and now averages less than five wolves.

The survey was conducted from December through April, before wolves had produced pups, and when the population is at its lowest point in the annual cycle.

“As the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula has grown and spread out across the region, packs are situated closer together,” said Dean Beyer, a DNR wildlife research biologist who organizes the sampling and generates the wolf population estimate for the biannual survey. “This makes it harder to determine which pack made the tracks that were observed in adjacent areas.

“Movement information we collect from GPS-collared wolves helps us interpret the track count results, because these data allow us to identify territorial boundaries. The minimum population estimate we generate is a conservative estimate, which takes these factors into account.”

The wolf survey is completed by DNR Wildlife Division and U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services staff who search specific survey areas for wolf tracks and other signs of wolf activity, such as territorial marking or indications of breeding.

In 2017-2018, approximately 63 percent of the Upper Peninsula was surveyed.

After wolves returned naturally to the U.P. through migration from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario in the 1980s, the population rebounded remarkably over time. The pronounced long-term increase in wolf abundance is evident, despite human cause-specific mortality, such as poaching.

However, over the past few years, Michigan’s minimum estimate has hovered between 600 and 700 wolves, which could be indicative of a stabilizing population.

“Research suggests prey availability and the geographical area of the U.P. are the key limiting factors of wolf population expansion,” said Kevin Swanson, a wildlife management specialist with the DNR’s Bear and Wolf Program in Marquette. “This is proving to be true.”

Since the winter of 1993-94, combined wolf numbers in Michigan and Wisconsin have surpassed 100, meeting federally established goals for population recovery.  The Michigan recovery goal of a minimum sustainable population of 200 wolves for five consecutive years was achieved in 2004.

Wolves in Michigan remain a federally-protected species which may only be killed legally in defense of human life.